Glover Teixeira Confirms He’s Fighting Phil Davis

Although UFC officials have yet to confirm the fight, Glover Teixeira says he is fighting Phil Davis at UFC 179 on Oct. 25 in Rio de Janeiro.

“My manager called me yesterday confirming the fight to Maracanazinho,” Teixeira told Brazilian outlet PVT on Friday, and also confirmed the fight to MMAFighting.com. “It’s going to be awesome to fight in Brazil again, in Rio de Janeiro. I’m really happy, training a lot.

“Fighting Phil Davis is going to be really good. He’s popular in Brazil because he already fought and defeated some Brazilians. Now it’s time to prove myself and start to climb the ladder again. I will train hard and fight hard. I want to fight for the title again next year.”

Teixeira (22-3) had a 20-fight winning streak disrupted when he failed to capture the crown from UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. Teixeira took Jones to the limit, losing a unanimous decision after going five rounds at UFC 172 in Baltimore in April.

He’ll look to work his way back into the title picture by facing the highly touted Davis, who is looking to make a rebound of his own.

Davis (12-2, 1 NC) was on the cusp of a title shot after stringing together victories over Wagner Prado, Vinny Magalhaes, and former champ Lyoto Machida. His title aspirations were snuffed out by a red-hot Anthony Johnson on the same UFC 172 card.

UFC 179 features featherweight champion Jose Aldo putting his belt on the line in a rematch with Chad Mendes at the Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio.